Bridal Packages: 3 Planning Tips for Salon and Spas

Each year, 2.3 million weddings take place in the U.S. alone. Now that we are in the midst of wedding season, thousands upon thousands of couples will be taking the plunge.

This influx of weddings means big returns for your beauty business. Since every bride expects her wedding to be perfect, you can expect a ton of appointments— hair, manis/pedis, makeup, and more— all for brides-to-be, bridal parties, and guests.

For some brides, splurging on beauty services is a must-have, and for others it’s not; regardless, it’s up to you to make it a necessity they can’t resist! Developing a bridal service menu is one way to encourage this mentality in your clients while also simplifying it for them.

To help you put together your bridal service menu, here are 3 tips you need for crafting your greatest bridal packages yet.

1. Determine Service Rates

First, you need to decide how much you’re charging. This can be a challenge due to the variety of services available and the budgets and preferences of your clients. For example, some clients simply want their hair curled, while others desire a 3-hour updo.

In order to simplify the math, don’t make up new prices. If your salon charges $65 for a typical one-hour haircut and blowout, and your base bridal hair service also takes one hour, then make $65 the set price. By sticking to prices your staff is already used to, you are simplifying a process that could be much more complicated.

With bridal parties, you also want to consider offering both a la carte services and group rates. For example, if a bride is paying for her mother’s hair, but not her bridesmaids’, a la carte services would work best. On the other hand, say you have a bridal party, where some women want to splurge for a massage or a deluxe pedicure, but others are unsure. Offering a discounted group rate might make it hard to resist.

When setting prices, also keep in mind the experience levels of your staff and whether services will be performed on-site at your location or off-site.

2. Know Your Three Cs

Knowing the three Cs—consultation, customization, and confirmation—will help guide your bridal service planning.

Offering the Mrs-to-be a complimentary consultation should be a mandatory part of all your bridal packages. This gives your bride the opportunity to determine what services are best for her needs, while you learn more about her preferences and timeline in order to pamper her how she desires for the big day.

The consultation also allows you to introduce customization, which is needed for any bridal consultation! By customizing services specific to the bride’s preferences and budget, she gets exactly what she envisions, while you open the door for additional revenue opportunities for services needed prior to the wedding. And if there is ever a time for a woman to pamper herself on beauty services, it’s when she’s getting ready to say “I do”! Packaging items together will encourage her to opt for something she may not typically select, since this is no typical day.

Finally, make sure to get confirmation of the bridal booking; secure the appointment with credit card information and make your cancellation policy clear.

3. Stay on Top of Trends

When providing bridal packages, you want to ensure you can accommodate every request, from the most basic to the most bold. Keep up with seasonal trends for the latest looks in bridal hair and beauty. If you don’t have any staff members trained in a specific hair color trend, for example, hire specialists to train your staff or send stylists to gain certification. This way you won’t find yourself disappointing a client when you tell her you don’t offer that service. Be prepared and don’t lose a potential client (and an entire bridal party to boot)!

Knowing these 3 tips will help you develop perfect bridal packages to suit all types of brides-to-be—from the most simple to the most extravagant. Being able to accommodate an array of style requests and budgets will bring you more (satisfied) clients and more dollars this wedding season—a win-win for everyone.

Now that you know the basics for setting up killer bridal packages, stay tuned for my next post on marketing tips to bring in the brides.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for more wedding season tips be sure to check out our free Booker Bridal Guide!

About the Author

Erica Brooke Fajge is a Content Marketing Writer at Booker Software. She has extensive experience in the tech and digital marketing industries, specifically in web content, online publishing, and startups. Erica also shares her expertise as an adjunct instructor at the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she teaches Business Communications in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management.